You are here

Last 2 months has witnessed a greater action in the space of electric buses. Department of Heavy Industries (DHI), Government of India sanctioned INR 4.37 billion (US$ 67 million) for the procurement of electric buses, e-taxis and e-autos in December 2017. The department has selected 11 cities with one million-plus population for the procurement of 390 electric buses, and is providing funds to the tune of INR 10 million (US$ 150,000) per bus.

The department has sanctioned 40 buses for every city under the pilot project, except 15 buses each for Guwahati and Jammu. However, BMTC (Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation) in Bengaluru is considering 150 buses and TSRTC (Telangana State Road Transport Corporation) in Hyderabad has decided to take 100 buses. 10 out of 11 cities floated the tender within 15 days, except Delhi which is planning to procure 700 e-buses separately from state budget. Interestingly, all 10 cities completed the tender within one month and received good response from the industry.

The department allowed the cities to choose the procurement method from the option of – Outright Purchase or Gross Cost Contract (GCC).

In case of outright purchase, DHI provides 60% subsidy and the rest is provided by the State road transport corporations. 5 cities (Indore, Lucknow, Kolkata, Jammu and Guwahati) released tenders under outright purchase model.

On the other hand, the buses would be operated and maintained by the supplier at a fixed cost per km under GCC. Under the FAME Scheme, the city expects to receive subsidy of upto 60% of the capital cost of Electric Bus over a period 3 years in three instalments of 20% each in each fiscal starting from the current fiscal year of 2017-18. 5 cities (Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Jaipur) have decided to invite bids under GCC.

Tata Motors will supply 190 electric buses to 6 cities, Goldstone-BYD will supply 290 buses to 3 cities and Ashok Leyland will supply 40 buses to 1 city. Ahmedabad could not able to issue Letter of Acceptance (LoA) by 20 March 2018. These buses may be deployed in a phased manner over the next three to six months. Some of the key findings from the latest bidding rounds are as follows:

(1)Length agnostic subsidy resulted in STU preference for 9 meters buses. The subsidy was based on the localisation components, rather than on the bus size. The government should encourage the procurement of 12 meters buses also as they can be used on truck routes.

(2) All cities completed the bidding process within one month to avail the subsidy under FAME-I Scheme. Most of the cities are procuring or renting the buses without detailed operation plan. The authority and the manufacturer/operator will need to work closely to ensure the deployment of e-buses on city routes.

(3) There is huge variation in tender conditions in different cities which results into big variation in price for both GCC and outright purchase contract.

Minimum Assured Kms – Per Bus Per Day (Figures in Km per day)

Contract Period for the Bus Operation (Figures in Years)

* Hyderabad – Initial contract will be for 6 years and can be extended to 4 more years / ** Bangalore – Initial contract will be for 7 years and can be extended to 3 more years.

4. The bidding round experienced very aggressive pricing from limited players to crowd out market. The authority should evaluate the bid price logically to find out the long term sustainability of the project.

5. Timely execution is essential given only two bidders has won all the tenders and will have advantaged position compared to other players. Further, technical capability of bidders also needs to be ascertained to ensure successful execution of contracts.

6. Deployment of electric buses is an opportunity for the cities to introduce new technology and change the face of public transport. Unfortunately, cities have not planned any special marketing efforts to popularise the use of electric buses.

The detailed analysis of each city is as follows:

Bengaluru, Karnataka

Bengaluru received the approval for the procurement of 40 electric buses. However, the city planned to procure 150 buses on gross cost. The tender was released by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for the hiring of 150 AC electric buses along with charging station. The city has not finalised the ratio of 9 meters and 12 meters air-conditioned e-buses. BMTC agreed to consider the experience of bus operation outside the country. BMTC has proposed a contract period of 10 years, which will be reviewed after 7 years. The assured average km is 200 kms per day per bus. The cost of electricity for the charging of the buses will be borne by BMTC.

9M AC E-Bus Rates Quoted by different manufacturers (Figures in INR Per Km)

12M AC E-Bus Rates Quoted by different manufacturers (Figures in INR Per Km)

Goldstone Infratech Limited emerged as the lowest bidder for both 9 meters AC e-bus and 12 meters AC e-bus, quoted INR 29.28 per km and INR 37.35 per km respectively, without the cost of the electricity.

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Mumbai received the approval for the procurement of 40 electric buses from DHI. The city is already running 5 electric buses (Midi) for last 3 months, financed by Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC). The tender was released by BEST Undertakings for the hiring of 40 electric buses under GCC. The city decided to hire 20 AC and 20 Non-AC buses. BEST has proposed a contract period of 7 years. The assured average km is 4,000 kms per month per bus (i.e. 150 kms per day). The operator is responsible for the electricity and charging of the buses.

9M AC E-Bus Rates Quoted by different manufacturers (Figures in INR Per Km)

9M Non-AC E-Bus Rates Quoted by different manufacturers (Figures in INR Per Km)

Hyderabad received the approval for the procurement of 40 electric buses from DHI. However, the city planned to procure 100 buses on gross cost. In the Phase-I, the city will procure 40 buses and will procure remaining buses in Phase-II. The tender was released by Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) for the hiring of 40 AC electric buses. The city has not finalised the ratio of 9 meters and 12 meters air-conditioned e-buses. TSRTC has proposed a contract period of for 6 years initially and extendable for further 6 years in two spells 7-9th year and 10-12th year of agreement period subject to satisfactory performance and fitness of the vehicle. The assured average km is 225 kms per day per bus. The cost of electricity for the charging of the buses will be borne by TSRTC.

9M AC E-Bus Rates Quoted by different manufacturers (Figures in INR Per Km)

12M AC E-Bus Rates Quoted by different manufacturers (Figures in INR Per Km)

Goldstone Infratech Limited emerged as the lowest bidder for both 9 meters AC e-bus and 12 meters AC e-bus, quoted INR 36.00 per km and INR 40.30 per km, without the cost of the electricity.

Ahmedabad, Gujarat

9M AC E-Bus Rates Quoted by different manufacturers (Figures in INR Per Km)

Ahmedabad received the approval for the procurement of 40 electric buses from DHI. The tender was released by Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) for the hiring of 40 AC Midi electric buses under GCC. AJL has proposed a contract period of 7 years. The assured average km is 72,000 kms per bus per year (i.e. 200 kms per day). The operator is responsible for the electricity and charging of the buses.

The city conducted first bidding round, where Tata Motors Limited emerged as the lowest bidder for 9 meters AC e-bus and quoted INR 59.00 per km. Initially, the authority disqualified Goldstone Infratech Limited for the lack of technical experience. However, the city decided to cancel the full process and invite fresh bids. Ashok Leyland emerged as the lowest bidder with INR 48.00 per km.

Jaipur, Rajasthan

9M AC E-Bus Rates Quoted by different manufacturers (Figures in INR Per Km)

Jaipur received the approval for the procurement of 40 electric buses from DHI. The tender was released by Jaipur City Transport Services Limited (JCTSL) for the hiring of 40 AC Midi electric buses under GCC. AJL has proposed a contract period of 7 years. The assured average km is 54,000 kms per bus per year (i.e. 150 kms per day). The operator is responsible for the electricity and charging of the buses.

Tata Motors Limited emerged as the lowest bidder for 9 meters AC e-bus and quoted INR 70.00 per km. The city received 4 bids but rejected 3 bids on the technical ground. Tata Motors was the sole bidder which qualified in technical process.

Indore received the approval for the procurement of 40 electric buses. The tender was released by Atal Indore City Transport System Limited (AICTSL) for the procurement of 40 Non-AC electric buses along with charging station. The city decided to opt for 9 meters air-conditioned e-buses.

Tata Motors Limited emerged as the lowest bidder to supply 40 electric buses. The price includes the FAME Subsidy component.

Lucknow received the approval for the procurement of 40 electric buses. The tender was released by Lucknow City Transport Services Limited (LCTSL) for the procurement of 40 AC midi (9 meters) electric buses along with provisioning and installation of charging station. LCTSL decided to procure the buses with 10 years Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) with battery replacement. Further, E-Bus should consume less than 175 KWh energy per 100 Km.

Tata Motors Limited emerged as the lowest bidder to supply 40 electric buses. The price includes the FAME Subsidy component.

Kolkata, West Bengal

Kolkata received the approval for the procurement of 40 electric buses. The tender was released by West Bengal Transport Corporation Limited (WBTCL) for the procurement of 20 AC midi e-buses and 20 AC standard e-buses, with 7 years warranty. The seating capacity of 26 and 31 passengers was fixed for midi and standard bus respectively. The authority asked for the Supply, installation and commissioning of 30 slow charging and 10 fast charging facilities stations for midi and standard buses. Minimum range of the vehicle with battery should not be less than 150km per charge.

Jammu received the approval for the procurement of 15 electric buses from DHI. The tender was released by Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (JKSRTC) for the procurement of 15 AC midi (9 meters) electric buses. The cost of provisioning and installation of charging station is asked separately.

Tata Motors Limited emerged as the lowest bidder to supply 15 electric buses at the price of INR 9.9 million per bus and will supply 4 chargers with the buses at the cost INR 1.6 million per charger. TML was sole bidder. The price includes the FAME Subsidy component.

Guwahati received the approval for the procurement of 15 electric buses from DHI. The tender was released by Assam State Transport Corporation for the procurement of 15 AC midi (9 meters) electric buses. The cost of provisioning and installation of charging station is asked separately.

Tata Motors Limited emerged as the lowest bidder to supply 15 electric buses at the price of INR 9.9 million per bus and will supply 4 chargers with the buses at the cost INR 1.6 million per charger. TML was sole bidder. The price includes the FAME Subsidy component.

Disclaimer: The information compiled in this article is collected from the various sources with best efforts. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Any action taken by a person or an organisation upon the information on this page is strictly at his/her or its own risk, and we will not liable for any losses and damage in connection with the use of this website.

About UITP

As a passionate champion of sustainable urban mobility, UITP is internationally recognised for its work to advance the development of this critical policy agenda. UITP has a long history to its name, and is the only worldwide network to bring together all public transport stakeholders and all sustainable transport modes.